The former Los Angeles home of Natalie Portman, Olivia Wilde, Joe Jonas and Brian Henson just sold for $3.05 million. To add to the list of high-profile prior residents: The most recent owner of the Los Feliz-neighborhood villa was sneaker mogul Jon Buscemi. The property was built in 1929 with white stucco walls and a classic red tile roof.

Join us for an incredible fireside chat with Academy Award Winning Actress, Filmmaker, and Humanitarian Natalie Portman. Natalie Portman known for her roles in V for Vendetta, Star Wars, and Marvel’s Thor, will talk about the pay gap in Hollywood and her own personal experience with pay disparity. Hear how she is championing Gender Equality and Equal Pay for Equal Work in the film industry and blazing a path to Equality for All.

November 7, 2017, Jerusalem – Today, the Genesis Prize Foundation (GPF) announced that world-renowned actress, director and social activist Natalie Portman has been selected as the 2018 Genesis Prize Laureate. The annual $1 million award honors extraordinary individuals who serve as an inspiration to the next generation of Jews through their outstanding professional achievement, commitment to Jewish values and to the Jewish people.

Portman is a globally-acclaimed actress and director. She began her acting career at the age of 12 and has since achieved recognition and praise from audiences around the world. She is a winner of multiple prestigious awards, including an Academy Award (Oscar), two Golden Globe Awards, the British Academy of Film and Television Award, as well as other industry honors.

Portman was born in Israel and, after moving to the US as a child, retained a close connection to her Jewish and Israeli roots. In 2015, she directed Tale of Love and Darkness, a Hebrew-language film made in Israel and based on the novel by an Israeli writer Amos Oz. Portman also played a leading role in this picture.

Natalie Portman is noted for her social activism in such areas as gender equality, combatting poverty, microfinance, and animal rights. She is a graduate of Harvard University, where she returned to deliver a commencement speech in May 2015.

“We are delighted to celebrate Natalie Portman as the 2018 Genesis Prize Laureate,” said Stan Polovets, co-founder and Chairman of the Genesis Prize Foundation. “Natalie’s charismatic on-screen presence has touched the hearts of millions. Her talent, her commitment to social causes and her deep connection to her Jewish and Israeli roots are greatly admired. She exemplifies the core traits of the Jewish character and values of the Jewish people – persistence and hard work, pursuit of excellence, intellectual curiosity, and a heartfelt desire to contribute to making the world a better place. Without a doubt, she is a role model for millions of young Jews around the world.”

In keeping with the tradition established by the previous Genesis Prize Laureates, $1 million in award money will be granted to philanthropic programs in honor of Natalie Portman. The programs will focus on advancing women’s equality in all aspects of human endeavor. In particular, funds will be used for grants to organizations involved in promoting women’s educational opportunities, economic advancement, health and safety, and full participation in policy formulation and political activity. A significant portion of the funds will be channeled to programs advancing women’s equality in Israel.

Chairman of the Genesis Prize Selection Committee, Natan Sharansky said: “It gives me great pleasure to welcome Natalie Portman to the distinguished family of Genesis Prize Laureates – outstanding Jews of our time. An example of excellence and dedication to Jewish values, she is an exemplary Genesis Prize Laureate. I express my strong support for her chosen philanthropic cause and wish the new Laureate further success in advancing the mission of the Genesis Prize that is so relevant to all of us today.”

Natalie Portman said: “I am deeply touched and humbled by this honor. I am proud of my Israeli roots and Jewish heritage; they are crucial parts of who I am. It is such a privilege to be counted among the outstanding Laureates whom I admire so much. I express my heartfelt gratitude to the Genesis Prize Foundation, and look forward to using the global platform it provides to make a difference in the lives of women in Israel and beyond.”

Natalie Portman becomes the fifth winner of the annual $1 million Genesis Prize. Previous Laureates of the Award, dubbed “the Jewish Nobel” by Time Magazine, are former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg (2014), actor and peace activist Michael Douglas (2015), virtuoso violinist and advocate for people with disabilities Itzhak Perlman (2016) and prominent sculptor and activist for the rights of refugees Sir Anish Kapoor (2017).

Natalie Portman will be honored at the Genesis Prize Ceremony in Jerusalem in June 2018.

That's a really great interview.Haven't finished it yet but she talks about how shes currently training for a role where is plays a messed up pop star and shes learning how to sing and dance. I wonder what role could be...it sounds a bit like Vox Lux. Who knows?

Oprah Winfrey, Reese Witherspoon, Natalie Portman and more than a dozen other powerful Hollywood women have decided that sexual harassment in the entertainment business will continue unless a cross-industry action plan is created and executed. And they have privately — very privately — started meeting to get it done.

The fledgling effort was prompted by the torrent of allegations of sexual harassment against the producer Harvey Weinstein and first revealed in a subscription newsletter for Hollywood insiders called the Ankler. Details were confirmed by three women involved, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because the cadre has been trying to keep its existence a secret.

The group, which also includes the TV producer Shonda Rhimes, the “Spider-Man: Homecoming” producer Amy Pascal and the “Star Wars” producer Kathleen Kennedy, has held at least two meetings at Creative Artists Agency in recent weeks. As participants brainstorm solutions — insisting that entertainment companies hire more women, setting up an effective abuse reporting system — an informal battle cry has emerged: “Time’s up.”

When I look back at my own education, I remember how my friends and I would complain because we didn't want to go to school — we didn't want to do our homework. I wasn't aware as a kid that the whole world didn't live as I did, that in fact I was very, very lucky — that 99% of the world was living in much more difficult circumstances.

I thought about that a lot when I first visited the Kisaruni School in Kenya: The school was built by the WE Charity in the Maasai area, where they previously didn't provide secondary education to girls. I got to meet the first graduating class, and I was moved by these young women who were so motivated to learn and really took advantage of the privilege. They know how rare it is that a girl gets the opportunity for secondary education there and how lucky they are. The girls wake up at four in the morning to study, and beg for school to be seven days a week instead of five. They realize this opportunity can change their lives. These Kenyans want to be doctors and teachers or the president and come back to their communities to make them better and stronger.

One of the nice things about WE (a GH Humanitarian Seal honoree!) is that it engages kids in developed countries to get involved supporting kids in the developing world. We need to expose our children in an honest, non-scary way to things that are going on: How some people don't have enough to eat, how some animals are not treated as well as their pets at home and how the environment is precious and needs our care. And kids understand. When they see people or animals in need, hear about the environment, they want to help. Kids are naturally empathetic — they have much bigger, purer hearts than we do. WE enables a more conscious, conscientious generation to see the privilege they've been born into and learn how to share it. This is why I'm working with Good Housekeeping to help get the WE message out.

Anyone can make a difference when you share ideas that are meaningful to you.

Well... a certain controversy with the Genesis Prize this year: Haaretz published an article yesterday saying that Ruth Bader Ginsburg (who has also been selected for a lifetime prize one week after Natalie's), had been the real one selected for the prize:

The co-founder of the foundation that awards the Genesis Prize, known as the “Jewish Nobel,” denied a report that Ruth Bader Ginsburg had originally been intended as the award’s 2018 laureate and that she was given a lifetime achievement award instead as “a consolation prize.”

Stan Polovets denied the veracity of an article published Friday in Haaretz. The Haaretz article quoted unnamed sources saying the 2018 $1 million award given last week to actress Natalie Portman had originally been meant for the Jewish Supreme Court justice.

The foundation then created a new prize, a lifetime achievement award, to give Ginsburg as “a consolation prize,” the article said. The awards were announced a week apart.

The unnamed sources gave Haaretz different reasons for the alleged change of plans, including that Ginsburg had been an outspoken critic of President Donald Trump and that the Supreme Court does not allow its justices to accept such monetary awards.

Polovets, who also serves as the Genesis Prize Foundation’s chairman and CEO, told JTA on Friday that Ginsburg was never on the final shortlist for the award. She had been among a group of 15 people who were told that they were being considered for the award, so she contacted women’s rights group in Israel to which she was considering giving the money if she were to win. However, the foundation was told by a Supreme Court legal counsel that justices are barred from accepting monetary awards, so Ginsburg was not on the final shortlist, Polovets said.

He denied claims made by Haaretz that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office had been involved in the decision making. The Genesis Prize was established as a partnership between Russian-Jewish philanthropists and the Israeli government.

“The prime minister in the five years of the Genesis Prize has never interfered or injected himself. He’s not even aware of the laureate’s name until the press release is issued,” he said.

The lifetime award was created, said Polovets, to honor worthy individuals who could not accept the prize due to work or time limitations.

“This year when we began discussions with Ruth Bader Ginsburg, and it turned out that she would not be able to accept the award, we thought it would be very important to honor her. We consulted with the first five laureates and came up with idea for the lifetime achievement award, which they unanimously agreed should go to Ruth Bader Ginsburg,” he said.

The foundation is considering awarding the lifetime award on a yearly basis, Polovets said.

The Genesis Prize was founded in 2012. Laureates include former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, actor Michael Douglas, violinist Itzhak Perlman and sculptor Anish Kapoor.